Sound of Our Hearts
by Mojo1586
Summary: An alternate story using the world and characters of my other fic, Team AMBR: Finding Redemption. (Note-you probably might need to read the other story to get an understanding of some of the characters and lore I use but I'll try and be general) [OC/Velvet] I got a few people asking me to do something with this pairing and thought I'd give it a shot.


_**-Velvet Scarlatina-**_

I was flying through the air, not a care in the world, Remnant's landscape stretching out before me. '_Freedom from bullies, from school, from the whispers and stares…' _I shook my head to clear my mind, instead allowing the wind to rush past my face, both sets of ears deafened as I soared higher and higher. Where would I go first, not Vale though it was a nice enough city I supposed, Mistral maybe, I'd heard that it was supposed to be lovely this time of year...I set down gracefully in the middle of a vast sea of flowers, enjoying the sounds of birds singing, the gentle warmth of the sun. I must've stood there quite awhile because I could just make out the sound of my stomach rumbling, a snack might be in order before my trip, maybe some pancakes, apple pie, along with a nice big plate of...

"Hey, hey Velvet, you awake? Earth to Velvet." my eyes opened as a voice called out to me, I sat up bleary eyed, unsure of where exactly I was. Across from me sat a tall figure hunched over the table, blue eyes shining with friendly concern. "Sorry…" he said quickly leaning back relieved, "you kind of dozed off there, you all right?"

"Carrot cake…" the delirious words were out of my mouth before my half asleep mind had even processing the question. I rubbed my eyes wearily before noticing the amused expression on my fellow students face as he tried his best not to laugh, I gave a start fully awake now as I shook my head rapidly, "o-oh no, I u-uh umm…what?" I glanced at the table beet red, one of my large ears drooping down in front of my face. "My apologies, I didn't mean to fall asleep, and on our first meeting too." I muttered weakly, doing my best to be as small as possible, waiting for the barrage of snide comments and abuse that were sure to come.

"No, no, It isn't a big deal!" He said in a panicked tone, waving his arms in front of him. "I was just checking on you, we've been at it for hours and the libraries going to close soon, thought you might want to call it a night." he waved off my apology, actually grinning as he helped me sort out the books we had collected and place them back on the shelves. '_That's new, usually my partners just laugh and tell me to clear up, if they show up at all…' _I looked over to where he stood now, stretching out is back before reaching for the higher shelves.

Joel Ambrose, the six foot two white haired leader of Team AMBR, one of the more...unique first year teams that had formed at Beacon this semester, already gaining a reputation as some of the more aggressive and outspoken members of their year so far. '_Hard to believe from their leader though.' _I wondered, watching as the first year balanced the stack of heavy tomes effortlessly in one hand. Aside from running into me on accident the day before the boy had been surprisingly kind and well mannered, no mean looks or harsh comments about my ears. He didn't even try to grab at them while I wasn't looking, in fact he was still apologizing for having touched them before back in the hallway.

"Is there something on my face?" I jumped with a start, blushing yet again as I realized that I had been staring blankly at his face for the past minute. I shook my head, passing it off as just spacing out. He seemed to buy it, shrugging as he put away the last of the books. "Well I'm done, want me to walk you back to your room?" I paused nervously, fidgeting slightly, "Uh...sorry it's not like I don't think you can't walk back on your own…"

"N-No, it's fine!" I said, a bit more loudly than I had meant to, earning a harsh shush from the librarian. "Uh, it's fine." It wasn't an issue I supposed, if he tried anything sketchy I was certain I could handle it, he wouldn't be the first. We walked the whole back to CFVY's dorm room discussing classes, favorite teachers, teammates... "So your partner's a Faunus?" I asked, taking stock of his reaction, most teams stuck with Faunus teammates had a generally negative reaction that was easy to spot for someone who knew what to look for. Rather than annoyance or anger however Joel just sighed, laughing lightly as he scratched at the back of his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, Maxine Argus. She's the dog Faunus sitting next to me in class, you might've heard the growling."

"You don't like her?" I queried, noting his tone as he spoke, surprised when he shook his head quickly.

"She's hard to work with I suppose, plus the cause of some of the more colorful tidbits you might've heard about our team though I suppose it did stop people talking about her ears behind her back. Max gets the job done though in the field, plus I think she's actually coming round to the idea of this whole team thing. They all are." he finished wistfully, glancing at his scroll. I wondered if this was what Coco had gone through in the first few weeks of school, trying to bring our team from four separate bodies into one synergistic Grimm killing machine.

"I'm just surprised you're working with me rather than her." It was strange, for the most part partners were encouraged to work together, the main reason why I thought I'd end up alone was because none of my teammates were in history along with me.

"I thought it would be better to have her work with my other teammate Ben, his partner doesn't take the class with us and I thought it would improve team relations if they worked together instead..." he explained before dropping his voice conspiratorially, "and between you and me, I'd rather have a group member that actively tries to contribute and doesn't spend the whole session insulting me." That was a sentiment I could relate to all too well.

We stopped outside my room, Joel thanking me for helping him out so much with the work before bidding me good night. I waved him off, thoroughly confused as I stepped into the darkened dorm room, changing quietly into my sleepwear and slipping beneath the covers, mind buzzing.

'_No insults, no teasing...he actually thanked me.' _It was certainly a shock, most of the other students apart from my team either bullied or were indifferent towards me. Joel however was one of the very few that didn't seem put off by the ears at all, he also didn't stare which was something I was very thankful for. '_Maybe this won't be so bad.'_


End file.
